Insight
by Big J Bonk
Summary: (Part 2 of Perfect AU) When K.O.'s POW card gets a recurring bug, Dendy suspects that T.K.O. might have something to do with it, and makes it her duty to find out for sure. She ends up learning a lot more than she bargained for, and she isn't the only one. Oneshot.


**Welcome back, everyone, as I bring to you yet another P.K.O. fanfiction. And this one's a beast, too.**

 **This is a sequel to my other oneshot, Calibration, and makes references to that as well as to canon. I suggest you go read that before you read this, because while you can definitely make sense of the sequel, there will be references to events that definitely aren't canon and might confuse you.**

* * *

"Woah, check out what Darrell did to his card," K.O. giggled, raising the POW card in question to show Dendy. Said card featured the Boxmore robot in what was likely intended to be a menacing pose, but it looked more like he was at a photoshoot for a women's magazine.

Dendy briefly adjusted her goggles. "Indeed."

It was about a month after Dendy had discovered the exploit that allowed heroes and villains to customize their POW cards. People were altering their cards left and right; even Colewort couldn't resist using a picture of himself reading a book under a tree. It was because of this that K.O. and Dendy decided to meet up during lunch to review their collections.

"Nick has made some... interesting artistic choices," Dendy said, showing K.O the card before putting it away.

"Cool, Drupe's level went up!" K.O. exclaimed, pointing to the 1 at the bottom of the card. "I wonder who else has leveled up lately?"

"I have, for one," Dendy claimed, unaware that she was bragging. "After we defeated Shannon, I advanced to level 2."

"Wow, Dendy, that's great!" K.O. cheered, earning a modest smile from the kappa. "You think I could be a level 4 now? I've been really good at fighting robots and stuff!"

"It's highly likely," Dendy replied. "Seeing as your POW card has been fixed, it's very possible that you've been gaining experience far faster than you had before."

K.O. gasped dramatically, then whipped out his card and smashed the refresh button with his finger. To his delight, his experience level began to climb, but that joy quickly became disappointment when it stopped a quarter of the way through with an error popup. "Huh?" He refreshed three more times with the same results. "Dendy, my card's doing that thing again."

"Is it?" The kappa took the card from K.O., hooking it up to her hackpack. A similar error appeared on her display. "Strange. This is the same exact bug as before. I was under the impression that the issue was resolved, but now it's apparent that it was a temporary fix."

"Do we have to go back to the Cloud?" K.O. whined.

"No need. I memorized the lines of code necessary to correct your POW card." As she spoke, she typed away until her display turned a healthy green, and K.O.'s bar raised until it was near the level 4 mark. "Even so, this will most likely be a recurring problem until we figure out what's causing it in the first place. K.O., has anything strange occurred in the past month that might corrupt your POW card?"

The brunette stuck out his tongue in thought, rubbing his chin. "I don't think so. I've worked at the bodega, beat up robots, hung out with Potato, gotten kidnapped by Boxman, escaped, fused with T.K.O., bought a new comic book-"

"Wait." Dendy held up a hand. "Did you say you fused with T.K.O.?"

"Yeah," K.O. replied. "We've done it twice now. We did it last week so we could hang out, and before that we did it to fight Shadowy Figure. That was a couple weeks before you fixed my POW card."

Silence ensued as Dendy waited for K.O. to connect the dots. When it became clear seconds later that he wouldn't, she cleared her throat. "I have a hypothesis. It could be that, by adding T.K.O. to the equation through this supposed 'fusion,' new variables were introduced to the POW card system, and seeing as you and T.K.O. have drastically different traits, and therefore different allotments and values, the system is unable to calculate two such values where there should only be one."

In his attempts to decipher Dendy's explanation, K.O.'s face was comically scrunched up, the figurative smoke pouring out of his ears liable to become literal smoke if he kept up. Sighing, the kappa said, "T.K.O.'s level may be conflicting with yours."

"Oh!" K.O. blinked. "You think that's it?"

"I cannot say for sure, but I feel that it warrants investigation," confirmed Dendy. "I would like to see T.K.O. after school, and perhaps meet your fusion. Preferably in my lab."

"Okay, yeah," agreed K.O. "I'll ask him and see what he thinks."

Dendy quirked a brow and frowned. "Is that really wise?"

"Sure, we get along great now. I'd even call us friends!"

"...If you say so," Dendy conceded, hesitation still clear in her voice. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry, Dendy! He'll agree for sure!"

(~)

"No way," T.K.O. scoffed as K.O. "took a nap" during a history lesson. "As if I would give that jerk the satisfaction."

"Hey, she isn't a jerk," K.O. argued. "She's really nice!"

"Nice to you, maybe," T.K.O. countered, "but never to me. Any time I've seen her, it's because she's forced me out of you. She takes notes, then she shoves me back down again! You and me, we're just _fascinating_ to her! A curiosity! An experiment, a code to crack!" He growled. "I may dislike a lot of people, but there aren't many I hate more than her."

K.O. frowned, his brows furrowed. "You... don't like her because she doesn't let you stay out?"

T.K.O. barked a laugh. "But it's so much more than that! You may have kept me down in the past, but I've got a temper, I'll own up to it. You were trying to protect them, not hurt me, so whatever. Her, though? It's like she's dangling freedom in front of my face, and if I bite, she pulls it back! Who even _does_ that to a person?! She's not stupid, it isn't like she has no idea what she's doing! So what makes you think I would come out just to see her?!"

At first, K.O. could hardly say anything; he'd never thought about how T.K.O. might feel about the experiments. He'd never even asked. Suddenly he wasn't so sure about the whole alter-ego-meets-Dendy thing, but T.K.O. was still expecting an answer. "It's... to figure out how to fix my POW card. It keeps glitching, and she thinks you might have something to do with it."

"So naturally it's only in your best interests, and I'm just the bad guy," T.K.O. bit out drily. "So what's she gonna do if I show up, stick me with tubes? Electrocute me?"

"She hasn't done that since the science fair," K.O. argued weakly. He felt terribly guilty for his alter's apparent suffering, but he still felt the need to defend his friend. "Just give her a chance. She was never trying to hurt you. She was just trying to understand. She shouldn't have done what she did, I get it. But if you give her a chance, you might even like her. Who knows?"

"I won't do it," T.K.O. grouched stubbornly.

"Pleeeaaassse? Just for a little bit?" when T.K.O. pointedly crossed his arms and looked away, K.O.'s tone became sly. " Would you do it if you got to fight every robot that attacks the plaza for a week?"

T.K.O. glanced in his direction, weighing his words. Finally, he said, "If she tries anything funny, make it two months."

Despite himself, K.O. beamed. "Deal!"

"And I want my own POW card. About time I got one."

"Shoot!" K.O. exclaimed. "I can't believe you don't have your own POW card yet! We'll definitely get you one when this is over!"

"Good." T.K.O. held out his hand. "We got a deal or what?"

Smiling and nodding, K.O. took the offered hand. This time around, there were no chains binding their wrists together. It was just an ordinary handshake.

"Don't expect this to be a regular thing," T.K.O. added for good measure.

(~)

When Dendy went to her locker to meet K.O. after school, she was surprised to find T.K.O. already waiting for her, leaning back against the locker and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. "Oh, T.K.O. I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Figured it'd be easier if I came out on my own instead of waiting for you to call me yourself," he griped.

Dendy blinked, sensing but not quite comprehending the jab. "Yes. Well, follow me, please." She opened her locker, exposing the chute that would take them to her lab. They rode down, and as soon as they were there, T.K.O. threw himself into the chair in front of the huge monitor, disinterested.

"T.K.O.," said Dendy, "may I see K.O.'s POW card?" The alter rolled his eyes, patting his vest pockets until he found the card. He tossed it in Dendy's general direction, leaving her fumbling to catch it. Inspecting the card, she couldn't see anything wrong with it, although experimentally tapping on it elicited static from both K.O.'s figure and level. "Hmm..."

"What? Don't tell me you broke it," T.K.O. teased with a toothy smile.

"I am not nearly so careless," Dendy replied with a quiet "hmph." "The card is fully functional, for all intents and purposes, yet something is clearly wrong. I know for certain that I fixed it during lunch, so your presence in K.O.'s body may indeed be the cause."

T.K.O. briefly glanced down at his hands, relaxed in his lap. "So _I_ broke it?"

"I cannot say for sure," Dendy answered. "This is merely an observation. Until I have conducted tests that result in changes in the POW card, or lack thereof, I cannot draw a concrete conclusion."

T.K.O. shot the kappa a suspicious glare. "What kind of tests?"

Dendy leveled him with a blank stare. "I would like to see your fusion."

The lab was silent for almost a full minute. "What."

"K.O. informed me that you have fused on two occasions, and has given me a general timeframe for each. Both timeframes correlate with a recurring bug in the POW card. In addition, the card suffered a temporary glitch when first being manufactured, resulting in an abnormally high displayed level, another possible allusion to your influence. Therefore, if I determine that your existence is the root of the problem, then I may devise ways to fix it permanently. So as confirmation, circumstances willing, I would like to see your fusion."

T.K.O.'s eyes narrowed with thinly-veiled hostility. "If it's P.K.O. you want, then why am I the one out here?"

"P.K.O., is it?" Dendy hummed. "To answer your question, I have two main reasons. The first is that I am unfamiliar with the nature of your fusion. It may very well tax you, or change you, or result in otherwise undesirable occurrences. K.O... means well, but often misses the big picture. You, on the other hand, are more likely to give me an honest and insightful account of the experience so that I may determine if fusion is necessary, or even safe or practical. The second reason," she added when T.K.O. opened his mouth to protest, "is that, by requesting for you to assume control, I could immediately determine whether or not you directly influence the POW card. By my observation, I would say it's likely, though chances are that your physical manifestation is the largest factor."

T.K.O. critically frowned at Dendy, leaning forward in the chair. "So what's the catch this time around?"

Dendy blinked in confusion. "Catch? I don't follow."

"Don't give me that. You never want words unless you're the one typing them. You want heart rates, reflexes, pain tolerance. Things you can measure. You don't ask questions, I know that's not how you do things. So what are you going to try to attach me to this time?"

"Oh," Dendy gasped, finally comprehending the question. "It _is_ difficult to gather usable data if it isn't quantifiable, but in this case, I don't feel it's necessary. All I would like for now is preliminary information on P.K.O."

"But that's not how you _do things,_ " T.K.O. insisted through clenched teeth.

"I could do a physical examination if you wish," Dendy informed him, "but also remember that you are under no obligation to indulge me at all."

T.K.O. glared at her in disbelief. "Do you even have any idea how that sounds?"

Dendy blinked; she knew she was missing something, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what. "If you want to stop, you are free to do so."

Growling, T.K.O. finally broke eye contact. "I already promised I'd do what you asked. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Very well." Dendy sat cross-legged on the floor in front of T.K.O., a keyboard and holo-screen materializing from her hackpack. "Please describe in as much detail as possible the physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral experiences that you've had while becoming P.K.O., as well as those had while existing as P.K.O. and returning to your normal state."

T.K.O. leaned back and rested his elbow on one arm of the chair, cheek in hand, giving off the air of someone intentionally trying to look bored. "It's... kind of hard to explain. It first happened when K.O. and I tried to fight Shadowy Figure together, but it... wasn't working out. So K.O. imagined this thing he said he saw in a movie. We wore these suits that hooked up to some machine."

"Ah, I recognize the reference," Dendy said, nodding. "Go on."

"Once we were plugged in, it just, it got weird. It was like we'd switched places, because suddenly I was looking at myself, but I was looking at him, too. I knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling, and somehow, I could tell he knew what _I_ was thinking and feeling, too. Can't say I liked it. It didn't hurt, but I don't think one brain should have two brains-worth of stuff in it. It felt like... You ever been clubbed on both sides of your head at the same time, over and over?"

Dendy mulled the question over. "No."

T.K.O. dismissively waved his free hand. "Whatever. Once we'd synchronized, it was still the two of us, but there was also only one of us. We were sort of in each other's heads, but we still had our own separate minds. And yet, we just sort of... moved together, sometimes even talked together. It was bizarre, but even though we were trapped together, I almost felt... free. Oh, and K.O. got a bloody nose."

"Mental strain, resulting in psychosomatic symptoms," Dendy noted to herself, typing away. "What about when you separate?"

"That part's nothing," T.K.O. replied. "You unplug, and you're done."

"Hm."

"'Hm?' What 'Hm?'" T.K.O. asked. "That too boring?"

"Oh, no," said Dendy. "I just couldn't help but notice how agreeable you've been, even though you don't seem to care for me or for the questions."

"I told you didn't I? I made a deal."

"Yes, I suppose you did." Dendy jotted down a couple more notes. "How long have your fusions as P.K.O. lasted?"

"The first time, we only fused for a few minutes. We went almost a whole day the second time. I know you're gonna ask, so no, nothing bad happened because of it."

The kappa typed in silence for a few seconds. "So by my understanding, the length of the fusion does not affect the state or stability of the fusion, and any negative effects occur only during the synchronization itself."

"Yeah, sounds about right. Can I go now?"

"Before you do," Dendy said, holding up a hand, "may I meet P.K.O.? I still need to determine how he affects the POW card."

T.K.O. groaned and threw up his hands. "You seriously owe me big time," he muttered to the original he knew was listening, shaking his head. "Fine, but the second you have what you need, I'm leaving."

"Very well."

T.K.O. rolled his eyes back in a show of agony and long-suffering, then closed them. Nothing happened for nearly two minutes, and Dendy started to think that maybe he was pretending to sleep. But then, there was a pulse of yellow light, which settled down to a mellow glow. It still appeared to be T.K.O. in the chair, but his spiked wristbands were gone, replaced by light blue fabric. His eyes snapped open, the irises a startlingly vibrant yellow.

Instinctively, Dendy stepped back, and as she did, P.K.O. rose to his feet. He pulled a headband out of his pocket, the same light blue as his wristbands, and snapped it over his unruly hair. He effectively leveled Dendy with his gaze. "You wanted to meet me. Well, here I am."

Dendy gulped; she could almost feel the sheer power radiating from the fusion, as kind and gentle as K.O.'s, but also as powerful and uncontrollable as T.K.O.'s. She knew that P.K.O. wouldn't hurt her- then again, half of him was T.K.O., so who was to say- but even so, it was quite intimidating. She shook herself, regaining her composure. "Er, yes. I must say I wasn't expecting such an entrance."

"Sorry. You just wanted to see me so bad, so I figured I'd make a lasting impression," P.K.O. replied, grinning. The voice was similar to T.K.O.'s, but there was a playful note to it that was very, unmistakably, K.O. So this was a fusion between two conflicting personalities. "So, you gonna take a look at the card or not?"

"Oh, right." In a bit of a rush, Dendy hooked up the card, running the usual diagnostic check. Sure enough, she got the very familiar error. "The bug came back."

"It did?" asked P.K.O., this time sounding much more like K.O. He knelt down to see the screen better, noticeably stumbling on the second step over. "Do you think you can fix it for good this time?"

Dendy blinked at him. Despite clearly being one person, he was, at the same time, two distinctly different people. It made him very difficult to pin down, his persona constantly switching from one to the other during such a short existence; even now, he couldn't seem to decide if he wanted to get more comfortable or back away. Dendy couldn't help but wonder, "What is it like?"

This time it was P.K.O.'s turn to blink. "Huh?"

"K.O. and T.K.O. are two very different people," she clarified, "and yet they're existing now as the same person, as you. It can't be easy, seeing as it's only possible because of an idea K.O. got from a movie he saw months ago. So what is it like to exist?"

"Oh." P.K.O. rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. It seemed that K.O. would be in the lead for now. "Well, some things are pretty easy, like talking. But other things can get kinda hard, like walking. K.O. likes to walk, but T.K.O. prefers floating, and because they don't agree, I don't know what to do with my feet, and I'll probably fall." For effect, he rolled back and fell onto his butt. "It sucks sometimes, because stuff that's easy for them, for me, it just... isn't. But then they talk it out, or one of them leads, and then it isn't so bad."

"I see," Dendy hummed. P.K.O. was starting to make some sense to her. "That's why you tend to take after one or the other. But I'm curious: are you a separate entity, with a personality of your own? Or are you simply the sum of their consciousness?"

P.K.O. started to reply, but then closed himself off, reserved. And just like that, T.K.O.'s persona had taken over. "...I don't know. I want to say that I'm my own person, but everything I do relies on what _they_ do. I can't act on my own. Sometimes, I don't even know what to call myself. I'm P.K.O., but I'm also K.O., and T.K.O., and if one of them unplugs, I just... stop existing. I don't go anywhere, I'm just... gone, until they decide to bring me back. So I guess... the answer is no. I'm _not_ my own person."

Pursing her lips, Dendy put an awkward hand on P.K.O.'s shoulder, startling him into looking up at her. "If you weren't your own person, P.K.O., then you wouldn't be worried at all about whether or not you exist. Even if it's hard to see, you are, without a doubt, your own person."

P.K.O. considered her words, then smiled. "Thanks, Dendy. That does help, a little." He cleared his throat. "So, can you fix the bug?"

"Oh! Of course!" Flustered, Dendy furiously tapped at the keyboard. "Now that I know what causes the bug to occur, I can figure out why, and therefore devise a way to stop it from happening again. It's simple, it should only take a moment. I..." An error popped up on the screen. Blinking, she typed again. Another error. She tried typing something else, and got the error again. "...can't do it. I cannot fix the POW card."

"Aww, man," P.K.O. whined. "I was hoping it'd work this time. Is there really nothing you can do?"

Dendy shook her head. "I'm sorry, P.K.O. One POW card simply cannot process the data provided by more than one person." Then it dawned on her. "More than one... P.K.O., we need to get you a POW card."

"Huh?" the fusion asked intelligently. "How's that going to help?"

"This keeps happening because one card cannot function properly with three people using it, so theoretically, if we can get you and T.K.O. your own POW cards, you will be officially entered into the database, in which the system should be able to redirect information to your respective cards based on who is active, rather than overloading one card."

P.K.O. took a second to grasp the information, then gasped. "Wow, do you really think that'll work?"

"I don't know. But I'd say it's worth a shot," said Dendy. P.K.O. nodded in agreement as she temporarily fixed K.O.'s card. "We can go whenever you'd like."

(~)

Minutes later, Dendy and P.K.O. arrived at the bodega, the fusion trying and failing not to look excited. Rad was stocking shelves, Enid was reading a magazine with her feet propped up on the counter, and as usual, Mr. Gar was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey K.O., hey Dendy," Enid greeted without looking up.

Rad glanced over. "Enid, that's P.K.O. He's like, a fusion of K.O. and T.K.O."

The ninja did glance up then. "Uh, is that safe?"

P.K.O. gave an annoyed huff while Dendy replied, "I assure you that he means no harm. We are simply here to get P.K.O. and T.K.O. their own POW cards in the hopes that it will repair K.O.'s POW card in the process."

"Repair?" Rad asked, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to his work. "Is his card ever _not_ busted?"

Enid shrugged, returning to her magazine. "Just don't wreck the place. And K.O.'s shift starts in fifteen."

"Understood," Dendy answered, nodding.

"...Is T.K.O. really that bad?" P.K.O. asked with exaggerated nonchalance as they made their way to the POW card machine.

"I don't think so," Dendy said after some thought. "He's only destroyed the plaza on two occasions, only one of which he was at fault for. That's a lot less than many heroes here can say. I think that he has proven himself fairly trustworthy since then, though it _is_ true that he'd made a rather negative first impression." P.K.O. hummed noncommittally.

When they reached the machine, Dendy patted its side with a flat palm. "I trust you know how to use this, P.K.O.?"

The fusion nodded. "Course I do." To prove his point, he fished out a few coins and put them in the machine, pushed a button, and pried one eye open, letting the machine scan his retina. It blinked, chugged, ad beeped, then silently dispensed a single card. Holding his breath, he reached out and picked it up. He turned it over, revealing his name, portrait, and a big, bold 7.

"...My own POW card," he breathed, awestruck. "It actually worked."

"Congratulations," said Dendy. "Seven isn't a bad start at all."

P.K.O. didn't respond, just stared quietly at the card in his hands for a long time. "Guess it's T.K.O.'s turn," he said.

"Don't worry," Dendy told him. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

P.K.O. glanced at her. "Yeah, we probably will." He hesitated. "See you then." With that, his passive glow abruptly dispersed, and he slumped against the POW card machine, unconscious. A few seconds later, his hair broke loose from his headband, spikes protruding from his wrists, and T.K.O. came to, groggily holding one hand against his head.

"Are you alright?" Dendy asked, coming to his side.

"I'm fine," T.K.O. grunted, lightly shoving her away. "Just never came out after synchronizing before."

Shaking himself off, the alter pushed himself off of the machine, pulling more loose change out of K.O.'s pockets. After letting himself be scanned, he waited impatiently as the machine processed the information, until it finally spat out his card. He picked it up, watching it flicker between several numbers, both positive and negative, before it finally settled on...

"Level 2?" T.K.O. scoffed. "I'm stronger than any loser here, so what gives?!"

"A POW card is less a measure of power," Dendy explained, "though it certainly is that, and more a measure of experience and ethics. It takes your actions into consideration, factoring in quantity, efficiency, and morality, with strength being a means to that end. I advise you to look at your level not as a sign of weakness, but rather as one for room to grow."

T.K.O. considered her words, then looked down at his new card, meeting his own stormy glare. "...Well, at least it's not negative."

"It isn't," Dendy confirmed. She was quiet for a moment. "T.K.O., I would like to apologize."

"Huh?"

"I don't think that I've been treating you fairly," she said. "In the past, I wanted to understand you, but I never gave you the chance to let me. I'd assumed you to be a villain, and I feared what would happen if I ever let you loose. But then K.O. told me so many good things about you, and today, I've gotten to see some of those things for myself. I've realized that... I was wrong about you. My actions towards you have been far less than considerate, and for that, I'm sorry."

T.K.O.'s expression, previously guarded, melted into one of amusement, and he smirked. "Heh, I guess you _do_ have a conscience after all." Dendy didn't reply, and T.K.O. chuckled at her discomfort. "I'll let you know if I ever decide to forgive you."

"I take that to mean we'll be seeing each other again?" asked Dendy.

"Better believe it. But I'm not doing you any more favors." T.K.O. stretched his arms high over his head. "Well, K.O.'s got work to do, and no way he's roping me into mopping the floor for six hours. See you whenever I feel like it." With that, he pocketed his POW card and headed for the back room, arms crossed behind his head.

Dendy watched T.K.O. as he disappeared behind the door, uncertain if she'd made a real friend or a reluctant ally. She decided that it was probably better not to make any more assumptions when it came to him; he was just full of surprises. Still, there was one thing that she knew for certain.

"I forgot to verify that their cards were working."

* * *

 **WHEW, that's a lot of words!**

 **Man, it's a lot harder to write P.K.O. when you aren't writing from the perspective of K.O. or T.K.O., especially since we have barely anything on him right now. When he was interrogating Shadowy Figure, half the time he was obviously talking as T.K.O., while the other half he seemed like a mix of the two, but still a totally separate being (he even got identity-confused a couple times, identifying as either himself or one of his components). Because of that, I operated under the assumption that he works similarly to fusions in Steven Universe: together but separate, with varying stability. Sorry if my portrayal confused anyone. It sure confused me.**

 **We haven't seen much interaction between Dendy and T.K.O., so it was kind of fun playing with their dynamic a little bit. People generally agree that Dendy wouldn't take his crap, but I feel like it's the other way around. T.K.O. would hate her guts after everything he went through under her, and she'd be overly cautious, if not terrified of him. So yeah. Fun.**

 **Hope you guys liked it! I might be writing more like this and making it into a little mini-series.**

 **Also, K.O. has detention on Saturday for sleeping during class.**


End file.
